Simbi "Three Kings" Ritual

Lwa Served: Simbi Dlo, Simbi Andezo, Simbi Makaya

Ritual Usage: This ritual can be used for many purposes but is especially useful for situations that are complex in nature and need to use more "levels" of magick than other situations. This ritual represents a team effort involving strategy, stealth, and power, and therefore can be extremely effective in situations where there are a lot of factors you need to address.

Lwa Aspects

(Big Lwa, my big point,
Simbi in Water,the “djab” (sometimes interpreted as
evil spirit, but more as a paid Lwa —Lwa achte’ sent
to do a job, very often misinterpreted as “the devil.”)stays
besides the shores, he is watching. Simbi what you see, you
don’tspeak

The Lwa
Simbi Makaya! Kiss the ground! I let go the “pwen” (power
point)into the hands of the children (Note: “You” are
the children — thegroup.”)The Lwa Simbi Makaya!
Kiss the ground! I let go the “pwen” into the handsof
the children.If there is life I will pay the Houngan, If there is
no life, I know Idon’t owe. (Note: Basically, “if I
do well after this, I will pay theHoungan, if I do poorly, I will
not pay the Houngan.”)The Lwa Simbi Makaya! Kiss the
ground! I let go the “pwen” into the handsof the
children.

Setting Up Your Altar

First clean the space that you will use first with salted water and then with fresh water. As you are cleaning, now is the time to start concentrating on the ritual, on contacting our Simbi Team, and what it is you wish to accomplish. As you clean, begin to picture the attainment of your goal for tonight's ritual. When you are done with cleaning the space, clean your hands with the salt and fresh water, too. You may choose to wear either the colors of all the lwa involved or white. Tie your head in a white scarf.

For this ritual, we will set up three distinct places on your altar; one for each of the Simbi Lwa. As you face the altar, to your left, place your items for Simbi Dlo, in the middle goes Simbi Makaya, and to your right, Simbi Andezo. (If you wish to call upon Ogoun as Simbi Andezo's friend during this ritual, you may put a small token that represents Ogoun in Simbi Andezo's space: A butterfly, a piece of iron, etc. Just realize that this should be small, Ogoun is not the focus here, Andezo is, but you can ask Ogoun to work with Andezo on your behalf.) You may put down altar cloths in their colors if you can, just make sure you are creating three spaces, no matter how small or frugal they may be.

Do the appropriate presentation for each item and place it in the space for the appropriate lwa, saying the lwa's name, "for you Simbi Dlo" - and so on. If you are on a budget, this can be a simple ritual as far as offerings go: Three candles, one for each lwa; fresh and salted water for Simbi Andezo; fresh water for Simbi Dlo; at least one offering for Simbi Makaya, even if it just some pepper or a small amount of meat and hopefully a bit of whiskey. Those are the basics. You can, of course, get as elaborate as you wish from there.

Doing the Ritual

Now that the altar is set up, light your candles and we will turn our attention to calling in the lwa.

First call for Papa Legba to open the gate for the Simbi Lwa. (Please note: The invocations for both Papa Alegba and the Simbi lwa are in "langaj" a fairly untranslatable language said to be the original language of the lwa. As far as pronounciation, just do your best especially in light of the number of "scholarly debates" regarding the pronouncisation issue. I feel Les Lois speak all languages and recognize these words, so no use worrying about it, just say it loud and proud if you can!)

After you have done the invocations, sit quietly for a moment to welcome Les Lois to your sacred space.

Now you will sing/chant/or otherwise recite each Simbi's song for them. Sing them in this order: Simbi Dlo, Simbi Andezo, then Simbi Makaya. As you are singing them, or afterwards, choose one of their offerings and hold it up for them - there is no wrong way to do this. Invite each one individually to partake in their offerings. If you can, have a little bit of their offerings with them; share in some "social time" with each one. If you want to have some fun - sing some songs that you know that fit each of these lwa. I have found all of Les Lois to be very responsive to different kinds of songs - pop, rock, etc. You could sing, "The Sounds of Silence" for Simbi Dlo, any number of "sea faring" songs for Simbi Andezo, and even something like "Magic Man" for Simbi Makaya. Take as much time as you feel is right for you and each particular lwa.

Once you are satisfied with the time that has spent, you may now begin your petitioning as we have discussed in class.
First, begin with Simbi Dlo. Acknowledge his great skills at silence, thank him for the knowledge that "silence is golden." Ask him to silence the things that you are choosing to work with during this ritual. When you are done, dip two fingers from your right hand into his water offering and sprinkle a few drops on the floor. Thank him for his time and consideration of your requests.

Move now to Simbi Andezo. Acknowledge his great skills of strategy and planning. Ask him to bring your plan to life; to help make a plan; to help execute a plan - any or all as appropriate to your situation. If you have honored Ogoun on the altar, ask Simbi Andezo to confer with his friend Ogoun to bring even more power and strategy into this plan. But this about Simbi Andezo - you are not actually asking Ogoun for his help - you are asking Andezo to confer with Ogoun. When you are done, dip two fingers from your right hand into his fresh water offering and sprinkle a few drops on the floor. Dip two fingers from your left hand into his salt water offering and sprinkle a few drops on the floor. Thank him for his time and consideration of your requests.

Move now to Simbi Makaya. Acknowledge his great magickal skills and powerfulness. Ask him to infuse his magick into the requests you have made. (See the transcripts from class about doing some extra empowering of items from your spell castings or adjunct products.) If you are a smoker (or can do a few puffs of smoke) and have offered cigars or cigarettes, light one and draw smoke into your mouth - don't inhale (even if you are a smoker). Blow the smoke over the whole altar, as much as possible. Do this three times. If you cannot do this step, then don't.

Once you have done all of this, this is a great time to sit quietly with paper and pencil and write down the thoughts that come to you. You may find yourself strategizing on problems, writing out potential solutions, or just randomizing some thoughts. All of this has value and meaning. Spend as much time as you are comfortable with.

End your ritual with a final thanks and acknowledgement of the power of the Simbi Lwa. Invite them to stay as long as they feel they need to and ask Papa to close the gate when the team is finished. They may hang around awhile because they have a tendency to get into strategy mode and like to be around your energy while they do this. It is fine to go to sleep or go about whatever you need to do. Papa Legba will be there to close the gate when all is said and done.

If at all possible, let your candles burn out on their own. Please only do this if you can do it safely. Take all fire precautions, please, please, please. Many of you have had some close calls. Don't take candle burning for granted.

Remember, now that you know this ritual, you can use it anytime. We are often faced with complex issues in our lives and this ritual is particularly effective for those things that may need multi-level assistance.